Impact

Impact Newsletter Archive

The Galveston County Daily News recently released a special magazine to spotlight the best and brightest professionals in Galveston County who are 40 years old or younger and are making a difference in their professions and in the community. Three members of the UTMB community made the list, including Summer Chapman, clinical research nurse coordinator, Joseph Ray, director of the Division of Medical Genetics and Metabolism, and John Prochaska, assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health.

In a recent conversation, UTMB's new Health System CEO, Dr. Tim Harlin, was frank about the fact that collaboration and innovation will be key in continuing to propel UTMB to the forefront of the ever-changing health care industry.

A NEW UTMB STUDY has further documented how muscles are affected by reduced-gravity conditions during space flight missions and has uncovered how exercise and hormone treatments can be tailored to minimize muscle loss for individual space
travelers.

NINETEEN UTMB FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS recently received
UTMB President’s Cabinet Awards for eight different projects that promote
outreach, education and improved patient care in the community and beyond.

252 graduates walked the stage at the Aug. 16 UTMB School of Health Professions commencement ceremony.
How many degree programs were represented during the School of Health Professions
2019 commencement ceremony?

This issue of Impact features “A Night in the Life” of Anthony Azagidi, a sleep technician who works an evening shift in the John Sealy Hospital Sleep Lab on the Galveston Campus. Mr. Azagidi has dedicated his career to improving health for patients who are struggling to get the sleep they need.

Azagidi, who is more commonly referred to as a
sleep technician, is typically scheduled to work from 6:30 p.m. until 8 a.m. three times a week. Alongside two team members, Azagidi conducts sleep studies for a wide variety of patients within the four-bed lab on the 10th floor of the hospital.

Dr. Gulshan Sharma, chief medical and clinical innovation
officer, was recently named one of “100 Hospital and Health
System CMOs To Know,” according to Becker’s Healthcare.
The list features physician leaders dedicated to strengthening
their organizations through leadership development, patient
safety initiatives, health information technology and quality
improvement. Many have served as department heads and
continue to practice medicine, while others focus on process improvement and
patient advocacy.

Whether working on the front lines in patient care or in another role at UTMB,
everyone contributes to Best Care. Here are a few examples of employees in
different roles who are demonstrating Best Care. These employees were recent
recipients of the Best Care in Action Awards.

UTMB, recognized as a Joint Commission COPD Center of Excellence, is only
the second center in the state to offer a unique lung volume reduction procedure
using an endobronchial valve only recently approved by the Food & Drug
Administration.

Xavier Rice, a second-year medical student at UTMB, first met Ben Amagwula, a 2019 UTMB School of Medicine graduate, at Prairie View A&M University while the two worked toward completing their undergraduate degrees. Rice remembers encountering Amagwula through PVAMU’s Undergraduate Medical Academy—a program that aims to funnel minority students into medical school by providing them necessary resources and support. Amagwula, who was an upperclassman at the time, was already a member of the academy and took then-freshman Rice under his wing almost immediately after meeting him

David A. Brown, PT, PhD, FAPTA, joined UTMB as senior vice president and dean
of the School of Health Professions on March 1. Renowned for his contributions
to the rehabilitation science community, he says collaboration has been a key
component of his career.

This issue highlights the contributions of our faculty and staff and
your ongoing commitment to improving health for the people of
Texas and around the world.
In particular, this edition includes an article on the annual Employee
Service Day celebration, which was held May 22.

Across UTMB, there are 116 employees in Property Services,
including 98 technicians, who maintain the institution’s 10.5
million gross square feet of facilities that are part of our operations. Ron Krenek, a Facilities Operations Technician is a part of that team and helps keep UTMB's buildings and structures up and running.

In October 2018, a shuttle bus transporting industrial
workers overturned and rolled several times
down an embankment on the ramp of Highway
36 and 288, resulting in a range of injuries and
one fatality. UTMB’s Angleton Danbury Campus
Team did an amazing job handling this medical
emergency while also demonstrating constant kindness
and compassion to the many families affected
by this tragedy. The team also managed the media
who came to cover the accident in a highly professional
manner, and for their efforts they received the
President’s Way To Go Award from UTMB President
David Callender on April 25.

DSRIP(Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment) program is technically a Medicaid-focused program, but at UTMB it's used as an incubator for larger population health initiatives that tackle issues like diabetes, heart disease and more.

During the recent UTMB School of Nursing
Commencement, more than 400 other graduates, each with their own stories
of learning and growth, participated in the festivities, celebrating those journeys,
what’s to come and the unifying experience of now being proud UTMB alumni.

The annual Employee Service Day
ceremony on May 22 paid tribute to
employees who have marked milestones
of service at UTMB, including
six people who were celebrating
more than 40 years at the institution.

April marks the 50th anniversary of what is now known as the UTMB Health Angleton Danbury Campus. Opened in 1969 as the Angleton Danbury General Hospital by the Angleton Danbury Hospital District, the campus has served the health needs of the surrounding area for decades.

Sara McDaniel smiles as she looks up from the stack of papers she’s busily preparing for patients. Every Wednesday morning, she’s the first person a patient sees as they enter the Angleton Danbury Campus Hospital.